Jumping off a bridge and into water is very risky - Woman survives 150ft

[Dark Window]

Woman survives 150ft jump from Forth bridge

A woman who threw herself 150 feet from the Forth road bridge in Scotland has become only the third person to survive the fall since the bridge opened in 1964.

www.independent.co.uk

If this was onto concrete I'd have no doubt she'd be dead.

But even though hitting water at 150ft is still very likely death, I think it's difficult if you hit concrete.


-

Notes -
Ms Valentine, from the West Lothian village of Uphall, was plucked from the icy waters of the Firth of Forth by a passing yachtsman. The South Queensferry lifeboat and another rescue boat went to help. They towed the small yacht to a nearby pier, from where an ambulance took the young woman 10 miles to hospital at about 5.30pm on Wednesday.

"If this lady survives she will be incredibly lucky," said a spokesman for the South Queensferry lifeboat.


"It is very, very rare for someone to survive that fall. It is an horrendous drop. Plunging from that height is like hitting a concrete wall."

The last person to survive was a 19-year-old man from Fife, who jumped in March, 1998. His leap was watched by a Royal Navy cadet and an army corporal who were passing beneath the bridge in a speedboat. When they hauled him from the water he was still conscious. He is believed to have survived because the rucksack he was wearing cushioned his high-speed impact with the water.


Ms Valentine's neighbours described her as a quiet person who lived alone.

Her next door neighbour, Lucy Henderson, said: "I can't believe she would do something like that. She is a lovely young girl, always very nice."

 

[Little_Suzy]

Bless you, Ms. Valentine! Lucky Number Three!

Not Ms. Lucy, flapping her gums and clutching her pearls.

 

[Forever Sleep]

I wonder if she'll be feeling so 'lucky' that she survived. Poor woman. I hope she isn't left with horrible injuries but I can't imagine how you wouldn't be.

 

[Ash]

I wouldn't necessarily call it "very risky" as per your title if she's only the third since 1964 and the first since 1998. I don't know how many jumps there have been this century alone but it the quote "very, very rare to survive" seems more plausible.

 

[rozeske]

Maybe because she didn't aim for the minimum fatal hight of 250ft on to water surface.

 

[Forveleth]

According to Wikipedia, there have been an estimated 800 suicides off the bridge since it opened in 1964. Only 3 people have survived giving a success rate of 99.625%. So with a 0.375% chance of failing, I'd be fine jumping.

 

[Ash]

According to Wikipedia, there have been an estimated 800 suicides off the bridge since it opened in 1964. Only 3 people have survived giving a success rate of 99.625%. So with a 0.375% chance of failing, I'd be fine jumping.

I knew someone would do the maths eventually

 

[black and white]

as ash said it, some rare cases doesn't make a rule. You even have a woman who survived a fall of 30.000ft from an airplane; but it's very rare, so rare that's it is kinda miraculous.

If the issue is uncerain between 15-25 (50-80ft) meters already (depending how you fall, feet first will decrease the chance of death), after 30 meters/100ft and over on concrete, the issue begain to be very probable, but it's never sure even if it's very rare.

The thing is hitting the head first, honnestly 15 meters is enough already. But it's already so difficult to overcome SI, jump at a certain height etc that diving head first seems very difficult (to not say impossible) to achieve. That's how many survive, because they stand and will arrive feet and legs first,or in case of accident they will arrive on the side, the head won't hit etc. during the fall the body have reflexe and will try to protect the essential organs and the head....

I did research, but there are no statistics, nor suicide events nor accidental ones, so having a very good idea is difficult. And that's why many, for a suicide advise 40m/130ft or even 50m/165ft on concrete, to be sure of the issue, because at this height, you will arrive with a very high speed so no matter how you fall, you're almost sure to die instantly, almost because there are always rare miraculous case, but don't think one case on 10.000 or 100.000 prove anything...

If doctors and physicians explains that the lethal possibilities seriously increase after 15 meters and is almost sure after 30, there are reasons. I invite you to observe a 20m/65ft height by yourselfin reality.... On the paper from what we read here, it's not so much and issue is uncertain, well.... I invite you to observe in real, and i challenge anyone healthy to make the jump thinking the lethality is "uncertain" . Ask to anyone, they will assure you you're almost sure to die at 20m/65ft.. in fact it's surely more a 75% chance, then 80-90% at 25m/82ft and over 90-95% at 30m/100ft..

I would think that the water increase a bit the uncertainty of the issue. Look, you already need to multiply by two the height necessary compared to concrete so yeah water is not solid. divide this 150ft by 2 its 75ft... yeah you can survive a 75ft on concrete, but you will be an exception, you probably arrived on your feet, and you surely have 200 broken bones...

 

[UKscotty]

The only 100% guaranteed height is 300ft + onto concrete. There are no reports of anyone ever surviving that.

 

[black and white]

The only 100% guaranteed height is 300ft + onto concrete. There are no reports of anyone ever surviving that.

not so much spots possible either. We could even say yeah 2.000ft is certain, period; but there's no interest.

Look finding a spot over 50ft is already complicated. Building are all electronically closed. Even if you enter in a building you can never access the rooftop.
High spot are considered suicide spots and can be securized or watched...

So yeah you can always try to find a crane, a bridge etc.

but just sayin 300feet onto concrete, means nothing and is far from the reality of people seeking for a jump. Also you have to consider that SI is very very strong to make a jump and the more height the more vertigos. The vast majority of the people will feel very impressed and even bad at 300 feet.

So those words are kind of meaningless and far from the reality. You don't need that height to die, and finding such spots are very difficult for almost everyone...
and by the way yeah it happened people survived even higher fall onto concrete. there are no rules, no 100% gauranteed; but quickly going above 90 to even 99%
alcides moreno, a worker, window washer, survived a 47 floors fall on concrete in NYC. His borhter, with him dired instantly. a 500 feet... believe it or not... so your 100% guaranteed is wrong and yes people have survived, but not so many be sure.

 

[Linda]

She could have added a few weights to herself, so that drowning was certain even if the fall didn't kill her.

 

[idreamofwires]

There's a bridge over water I want to jump off but it's only about 150 feet high. I have read about several deaths by jumping from it, though.

 

[UKscotty]

not so much spots possible either. We could even say yeah 2.000ft is certain, period; but there's no interest.

Look finding a spot over 50ft is already complicated. Building are all electronically closed. Even if you enter in a building you can never access the rooftop.
High spot are considered suicide spots and can be securized or watched...

So yeah you can always try to find a crane, a bridge etc.

but just sayin 300feet onto concrete, means nothing and is far from the reality of people seeking for a jump. Also you have to consider that SI is very very strong to make a jump and the more height the more vertigos. The vast majority of the people will feel very impressed and even bad at 300 feet.

So those words are kind of meaningless and far from the reality. You don't need that height to die, and finding such spots are very difficult for almost everyone...
and by the way yeah it happened people survived even higher fall onto concrete. there are no rules, no 100% gauranteed; but quickly going above 90 to even 99%
alcides moreno, a worker, window washer, survived a 47 floors fall on concrete in NYC. His borhter, with him dired instantly. a 500 feet... believe it or not... so your 100% guaranteed is wrong and yes people have survived, but not so many be sure.

No one has ever survived a direct fall of 300ft+ .. its simply completely impossible for a human body so my statement holds true.

The fact 300ft is hard to find doesn't make it less so. The guy you quoted survived as he was on a scaffold which is believed to have sort of glided down on the air breaking the impact.

 

[Dark Window]

According to Wikipedia, there have been an estimated 800 suicides off the bridge since it opened in 1964. Only 3 people have survived giving a success rate of 99.625%. So with a 0.375% chance of failing, I'd be fine jumping.

And that's onto water, imagine onto concrete?

This also makes you wonder about people who use the 95-98% success rate of 150ft jumps, and they use that to deter people but they don't specify how many of those falls were broken by objects on the way down or not straight drops.

The fact that this is a straight 150ft drop onto water and it's 99.5+% successful makes you more confident in jumping, doesn't it?

And think there may be more unconfirmed suicides.

as ash said it, some rare cases doesn't make a rule. You even have a woman who survived a fall of 30.000ft from an airplane; but it's very rare, so rare that's it is kinda miraculous.

Sure but if jumping from 150ft straight onto a hard surface has a 99% success rate, that is comparable to shotgun success.

There's no 100% guarantee with anything.

Maybe I would do SN + JUMP.

 

[unabletocope]

Who knows, she probably had more of a chance doing this over jumping out of a hot air balloon.